Hatecrush
by Caroline Mason
Summary: John and Dave have been basically lifelong enemies. The boys are now in high school and hate each other just as much as they always have. But when they find themselves making an unexpected deal to satisfy new cravings, they both begin to question if the hate that's always burned inside for each other has really always been hate.
1. Chapter 1

John and Dave have been sort of enemies since kindergarten when John played a prank on Dave during nap time by putting glitter on his shades and then Dave's retaliation of gluing a cotton ball bunny tail to John's butt during the Easter season.

All through elementary and middle school, they've lived in the same neighborhood and gone to the same schools and somehow ended up in the same classes a fair amount of times. They always screw with each other and tease them and prank each other and have been sent to the principal's office together a few times. They've never really been out to seriously hurt each other though. Once Dave pushed John off his bicycle and John broke his arm as a result and Dave even said 'I'm sorry you're such a loser you broke your arm' and gave him a shiny quarter.

Now the boys are juniors in high school and have five out of their six classes (not including homeroom) together. During gym one day, their all dude personal fitness class was playing basketball and Dave threw the ball and hit John in the torso, just barely missing his groin but knocking the wind out of him anyway. John fell to the ground and Dave and a bunch of other guys laughed at him. John hadn't been in a very good mood to begin with (because of something Dave did to him already that day) and at this point, he was really pissed off. He got up and glared at Dave and told him he'd make him pay for being such a douche bag.

"What are you gonna do, Egbert? I'm really curious."

"You'll see strider. Just you wait."

"Yeah, whatever."

They both went on about their day, promptly ignoring each other the rest of their classes together. When the bell rand and everyone was dismissed from school, Dave was walking through the hall holding his backpack on his shoulder with one strap like a cool kid and walking to his locker when someone from the other direction grabbed his arm and started pulling him the other way through the crowd. Dave was about to tell them off when he saw it was John and smirked.

"Hey Egbert, what do you think you're doing?" John didn't respond, just tightened his hold on Dave's arm and pulled him off into a less crowded hallway. Dave was starting to wonder where the heck John was taking him. John ended up pulling him into the boys' bathroom that nobody ever used because it's so out of the way. He stormed in with Dave in tow and shoved him against the nearest wall. Dave staggered back and hit the wall, and before he could think on it, John's fist flew up and hit him in the jaw.

Before Dave could even react, John grabbed Dave by the neck of his shirt and kissed him. It was a really forceful kiss and he didn't pull back until at least ten seconds later. He and Dave stared at each other and then Dave's brain clicked. He grabbed John by the front of his shirt and yanked him over to the wall and switched so he had John shoved up on the wall and then kissed him. This time, they started to have a little hate make out session kind of thing going, John getting a tight hold on Dave's hair to pull him closer. Eventually they stopped and had an awkward kind of minute to realize what they just did. Dave slowly picked up his bag and left John there by himself.

The next day, the boys didn't have any contact with each other; didn't speak to each other or anything. It wasn't till after school when John was putting his stuff in his locker that Dave approached him and grabbed him by his shirt and started to pull him away. John figured Dave was taking him somewhere to beat him up for yesterday, so he started to brace himself for a fight. Dave ended up taking him back to the bathroom and doing almost the exact thing John did to him. They ended up having another little make out session. When they finished and pulled apart, Dave looked John in the eyes and told him they were even and left.


	2. Chapter 2

Since Dave 'got even', the boys hadn't spoken to each other or even gone near each other. The most they'd done was bump shoulders in the hall. A few days later, their English teacher assigned them partners to make a poster about the vocabulary word 'retaliation'. They glared at each other and at the end of class, they agreed to go to John's house after school to do the project. At the end of the day, they left school and walked the short distance to John's house. They walked in and headed up to John's room.

"Why did we agree to come to your stupid house again?" Dave asked as he looked at the creepy harlequin stuff everywhere.

"Because my dad and Jade aren't home and there's no telling if your Bro is."

"Why isn't your sister here?"

"She's out shopping with Rose or something, I don't know."

Dave nodded and they sat on John's bed and start pulling paper and pencils out of their backpacks (but not before Dave made a comment on John's ghost bed sheets). They started writing out a plan for what their poster would look like and they started arguing about whether or not the synonyms should be at the top of the bottom (Dave said top and John said bottom). John got so angry, he blurted out "Well you just like to do everything on the top, don't you?!" in reference to Dave having been more controlling when they made out in the bathroom. They were both shocked at what he said and blushed and turn away from each other. "We'll just put them in the middle," John said after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.

"Where are we going to put the definition then?" Dave asked pointing to the list of required things they had to include.

"Under the word or something, I don't know."

"We've already got the word in the middle though-"

"Oh my god then you just do the whole thing yourself, I don't care!"

They glared at each other and when John turned away, he could still feel Dave's eyes staring at him.

"We still need antonyms and an example-"

"I'll give you an example," Dave said and grabbed the collar of John's shirt, pulling him across the space between them and kissed John. John only took a moment to recover before moving closer to Dave and putting his fingers in the blond's hair. They stayed like that and Dave decided to show John what it was really like to have Dave Strider on top and started to push him back to lay down. John let him do it but realized that he was lying on their paper.

"We're on the project-"

"Shut up."

Dave kissed him harder and let out a small noise of discomfort when John pulled him closer by his hair. They continued making out and Dave got so into it, he didn't notice when John wrapped his fingers around Dave's wrists and shoved him off and over to his side. Dave laid there shocked and out of breath and John took the opportunity to straddle Dave and pin him down before slamming his lips to Dave's. Dave tried to kiss John and throw him off at the same time but ended up putting more effort into the kissing.

At some point, he caught John off guard and shoved him off to the side which just so happened to be off the bed. John gasped and clung to Dave, and they both toppled off the bed onto their knees on the floor. They cursed at each other and Dave put his shades up on the bed and pulled John back to him. He tried to think of a way to get his revenge and grabbed the bottom of John's shirt, yanking it up and over John's head and tossing it to the side. He rejoined their lips and dragged his nails lightly down the brunette's chest, smirking when it earned him an embarrassed almost moan from John. John felt his face get hot and tore Dave's shirt off too. He then threw his weight against Dave in attempt to pin him to the floor. The two rolled around wrestling and kissing for some time, being completely oblivious to the front door opening and a voice calling John's name. It wasn't until John's door opened and Jade screamed a little that the boys broke apart, both staring at her with somewhat wild looks in their eyes. Dave looked between the siblings and grabbed his shirt and backpack and rushed out.


	3. Chapter 3

Author note: 9Feb2013

omg omg okay so i'm just gonna reply to the reviews sort of real quick! I'm not sure if there's a way i can do it other than just putting it all up here and stuff.

but this is mostly directed to the anon who had a bit of trouble posting a response, i've actually got twenty three chapters of this story written! i'm just transferring them from my blog to . thanks for the criticism though! i like to think though that since these first beginning chapters, i've improved! but yeah omg i've got a whole bunch of this written, and the chapters get longer and more into each character's perspective.

i think that's all i'm gonna say for now, but thank you to everyone who's reading this story and everything! i really hope you enjoy it c:

~Kitty

It took a while, but Jade eventually got the whole story out of John explaining why he and Dave were wrestling and making out shirtless on his floor. He begrudgingly told her about how he punched and kissed Dave in the bathroom and how Dave had done the same thing then about what happened on his bed.

"So do you two like each other like that? I always knew you guys didn't really hate each other!"

"Ew, Jade gross! That's disgusting. I would never like Dave Strider in that way," John said, fully clothed and sitting on his bed with his arms crossed.

Jade waved her hand at him dismissively. "Whatever! Just you watch, you guys are going to end up together and it's going to be great. (: "

Dave pulled his shirt on as he stormed home. Thank goodness he didn't live far from John. He stomped up to his apartment and threw himself on the couch first thing. It was when he pressed his face into the cushion that he realized he wasn't wearing his shades. He froze and quickly sat up, digging through his bag and checking his pockets and searching for them. Then he remembered putting them on John's bed and face-palmed. Great, now how was he going to get them back?

Before he could curl up into an angry ball of Dave, Cal appeared on the table in front of him and then next to him. Dave was in such a mood, he pushed the puppet onto the floor.

"I'm not in the mood for this," he grumbled, seeing his Bro come out of nowhere beside him.

"What's your problem?" Bro asked, putting Lil Cal on the table.

"I left my shades at stupid Egbert's house."

"Why did you do that?"

"It was an accident. I didn't mean to leave them."

"Why did you even have them off in the first place?"

"Because they were getting in the wa-" Dave stopped himself, but it was too late. He'd said too much.

"In the way of what?"

"Nothing."

"Dave."

"No."

"Dave."

"Shut up, I'm not telling you."

"Tell me or I'll put Cal in the tub while you're in the shower again."

Dave grit his teeth and told Bro everything in a very grumpy and pouty tone.

"I always knew it'd come to this," Bro said with a sigh.

"What do you mean?"

"You're finally starting to man up."

"Bro what are you talking about."

"You're recognizing your feelings and taking action-"

"Whoa, whoa. I do not like John Egbert"

"Yeah whatever, you keep telling yourself that."

"I will because it's the truth. Now excuse me while I go think of a way to break into his house and get my shades back," Dave said getting up and going into his room.

The next day at school, John walked nervously to first period. After what Jade had said, he'd barely been able to sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about what if he actually _did_ like Dave like that? He tried once again to push it out of his head as he walked into the classroom.

Dave sat at his desk with his head down and his hood up. Geez, what a drama queen. John walked over and punched his shoulder hard, but not enough to really be painful. Dave peeked his eyes out and glared at John.

"What do you want?"

"Here, I figured you'd want these back." john put his hand in his sweater's kangaroo pocket and pulled Dave's shades out and put them on the table by his arm. Without saying anything else, john walks back to his seat and sits down. Class starts and in the middle of class, someone passes john a note. He glances around and opens and reads the note written in red ink:

Egbert, go to the photography room during lunch so we can finish that thing. ds

Even without Dave's initials on the bottom, john knew it was from him. But wait, finish that thing? What thing was he referring to? The poster or the kissing? John figured the poster, but he honestly couldn't be sure. He read the note over and over again for the rest of class, and when the bell rang, he watched as Dave (now with his hood down and shades on) was one of the first ones out of the room.


	4. Chapter 4

When the lunch bell rang, John made his way to the art department and looked for the photography room. He'd never thought about it before, but now that he did, he realized he'd never seen Dave in the cafeteria before. He must always have spent his lunch in here.

John took a deep breath and walked into the room.

It was fairly dim, yet still quite a bit of light in the room. There were two long tables pushed up on a wall and two long tables lining another wall that all had computers on them. He spotted Dave right away since he was alone in here. He was sitting at one of the empty tables with a bottle of apple juice and a brown lunch bag next to him. He was scrolling through pictures on a digital camera and didn't acknowledge John until he shut the door.

"Ready to do this?"

John shuffled his feet, not wanting to sound dumb, but still curious as to what Dave had really meant. "Ready to do what?"

"You know what."

"Why don't you clarify."

Dave looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "The project. Unless you want to make out some more, which I'm sure you do. I mean who wouldn't."

John rolled his eyes and pulled the slightly crumpled paper out of his bag and put it on the table. By the time lunch was half over, they had the thing finished and done with. It was a little rushed, but it was done and they didn't really care to make it better.

John slipped the poster into his bag again and looked at Dave who was staring at the wall. He decided he didn't want to be curious anymore and just blurted out "so strider, why did you kiss me yesterday hmm?" he saw a slight tint of blush on the blond's cheeks and smirked to himself.

"For ironic reasons your tiny brain wouldn't understand."

"Oh really."

"Yeah really."

"You initiated the last two of our kisses, so I don't think you should be saying I'm the one who wants to make out with you. I think it's the other way around." Dave's cheeks got pinker and John kept talking. "I think you like kissing me, and maybe even have a crush on me."

Dave quickly turned his head to look at John. "Me? Have a crush on you? Egbert please, only in your dreams would that be a thing."

"Then tell me why you kissed me first."

"For ironic purposes, I already told you."

"I don't believe you."

"I don't care."

"I think you do."

"Well I don't."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, now leave me alone."

John was about to say something else but closed his mouth. He didn't know what to think. Maybe Dave didn't like him and Jade was just really wrong. He guessed there was one way to find out. He put his backpack on the floor and scooted his chair closer to Dave's. Dave looked at him, but before he could do anything, John pressed a kiss to his lips. He didn't kiss him roughly or forcefully or anything like their previous kisses had been. Just a simple, slow kiss. Dave responded at first, going along with it, but a nagging sense in the back of his head told him to stop.

Dave pulled back and stood up. "Now we're even, so leave me alone."

John watched as the strider picked up his lunch, camera, and backpack and left the room without another word.


	5. Chapter 5

Dave's head was swimming with emotions. That kiss was different. It wasn't full the hate-passion as the others had been. It was just a simple kiss. And boy was it screwing with his head.

He avoided John the rest of the day, watching him turn in their project and not speaking to him when their teacher announced the grades at the end of class and that they'd passed with an A.

By the end of the day he was starting to question if he actually _did_ have a crush on John.

No. No of course he didn't. That was preposterous and stupid and dumb and not true and it would never be true ever.

Dave decided he needed to prove that he wasn't crushing on John and that he didn't have feelings for this guy. as he was walking out of school, he saw a group of girls talking in a circle, he walked up and pulled a brunette with long hair to him and kissed her, ignoring the gasps and giggles from her friends. she kissed him back in a clumsy and confused sort of way and he couldn't get the thought out of his head that he preferred John's soft lips to this girl's lip gloss coated ones. He pulled away and just walked off, angrily running a hand through his hair. That hadn't helped at all and now his mind was even more muddled. He walked home hoping no one could see the angst rolling off him.

John watched as Dave kissed the random girl and then storm off. Jade had been wrong. He had been wrong. Dave didn't have a crush on him. But he didn't have a crush on Dave either, right? If that was true, why did he feel slightly hurt? John's head started to throb with all of these mixed emotions flowing through him. He quickly walked home and curled up on his bed for the rest of the afternoon.

The next day was unusually chilly, so Jade and John huddled close as they walked to school together.

"So what have you and Dave done about your situation?"

"What situation?"

"You know! You guys' crushes on each other!"

"Jade we do not have crushes on each other. He does not have a crush on me and I do not have a crush on him. He's a total douche bag anyway, and he isn't even my type."

"Oh really."

"Yes, really."

"I think he is exactly your type!"

"Well what do you know, anyway."

"Come on John! I'm a girl, I know these things! I can totally tell he is your type. Besides you've never found a girl, or a guy for that matter, you were interested in before-"

"That's not true-"

"Yes it is now shut up and let me finish. And the reason you haven't is because you like feisty people like Dave!"

"Is that all you've got?"

"Yes, but it's enough to prove my point!"

"Okay, jade, whatever. But I don't have a crush on him."

"Denialllllll!"

They bickered until they got to the school and Jade ran off to talk to Rose. John went inside and to his locker to get his stuff for his first classes.

John and Dave didn't talk or interact with each other again. John sat at his normal table for lunch and Dave went back to the photography room. It was a normal day.

By fifth period gym, it was still chilly outside and their coach decided it was a great day to go outside and do whatever the heck they wanted, after they ran a lap of course.

John changed into his gym clothes and pulled his sweater on and walked out with the other guys, noticing Dave walking by himself with a light sweater and the hood up.

Dave had made up his mind. He ran the lap, not paying attention to everyone else around him because of his jumbled thoughts, and discovered that had been a bad thing when he finished running. He looked around and didn't see John everywhere. He tried to look casual as he looked around everywhere for John, and just as he was about to give up, he found Egbert lying in a patch of grass in the sunlight away from everything. He watched John for a minute, wishing he had his camera because the light made John look really great. He sighed quietly to himself and approached the brunette.

"Yo Egbert."

"Mmph."

"Sit up and look at me. I have a proposition."


End file.
